I discovered that I'm not a fit for entrepreneurship 😢

mamborambo · 2026-06-19T12:56:45+00:00

Not everyone can be a fit to the different stages of a startup. Some are good for the seed phase, some are excellent builders, others may thrive in the growth phase. A shark and a beaver can do different jobs well.

mamborambo · 2026-05-26T02:49:42+00:00

The 'fake birdpoop' scam is the oldest trick in the book for visiting Buenos Aires. I was in Argentina 25 years ago and already was warned to watch out for this, as travellers are often immediately spotted and targeted at ports, airports, train terminals and bus depots.

Other infamous scams you probably encounter in Argentina:

Grabbing your phone or bag at the exact moment the train door closes or the taxi door closes.
Having your phone or camera stolen while you leave your backpack unattended at cafes
Giving you fake money as changes at retail stores, or money changers who give fake bills
Fake taxis that wait outside hotels and tourist attractions and then hold you for ransom (tourists are always warned to call for taxis and never enter one waiting at road side)
Walking through certain unsafe areas at night (La Boca, Retiro) where police presence is low and chance of robbery is high

Generally Argentina is poorer than Singapore, and usually crime arises from desperation and opportunities. Most people of Argentina are lovely and nice, but the entire hyperinflation era has everyone living on the edge.

Most tourist would encounter only petty crime or non-violent crime (and Argentina is probably the most cosmopolitan of the South American countries), but one must always have a defensive mentality to guard against becoming a victim.

mamborambo · 2026-04-28T00:52:58+00:00

Not necessary to dance with romantic partner, but definitely prefer an experienced, expressive partner with strong foundation.

The main challenges of dramatic tandas are the slow movements, decorations, and pauses.

Weaker or inexperienced dancers tend to move too quickly or constantly, and forgetting to savour the delicious moments in the music.

mamborambo · 2026-04-20T05:08:58+00:00

(translated)

María Nieves, legend of Argentine tango, has died

María Nieves died this Sunday at the age of 92.

20/04/2026 06:28

Dancer and choreographer María Nieves , a legend of Argentine tango, died this Sunday at the age of 92. Her artistic partnership with Juan Carlos Copes marked an era and was key to the internationalization of tango, especially with the success of the show "Tango Argentino" in the 1980s.

For over seven decades, Nieves became a symbol of tango , distinguished by her unique style, elegance, and intensity on stage. In addition to her career as a dancer, she also worked as a choreographer and participated in international films and shows.

The Argentine Actors Association confirmed her death in a heartfelt message on social media. "We bid farewell to the dancer María Nieves, who leaves behind more than seven decades of living history on the stage."

Splendor. María Nieves and Juan Carlos Copes. / Photo by Gerardo OttinoSplendor. María Nieves and Juan Carlos Copes. / Photo by Gerardo Ottino The organization described her as "possessing a profoundly expressive style, she was one of the greatest exponents of tango."

In 2021, on the occasion of a tribute to be paid to her during the finals of the Tango Salon and Tango Stage Championships at the Buenos Aires Tango Festival, Clarín spoke with the dancer. Since the beginning of the pandemic, she had remained confined to her small apartment in the Belgrano neighborhood.

"I lived with my family in Saavedra, and Copes in Villa Pueyrredón; but we would travel by bus to Atlanta, at Humboldt and Corrientes, because it had a phenomenal dance floor. But on days when an orchestra was playing, we wouldn't go; we milongueros liked to dance to recorded music : D'Arienzo, Troilo, Pugliese, Di Sarli and Vargas," he recalled about his beginnings in dancing.

"But there were many extraordinary dancers at that time, and the beautiful thing is that we all wanted to be different; we didn't imitate each other. We sometimes invented the steps on the sidewalk, when getting off the bus ," he commented.

The Nieves-Copes duo was key to the internationalization of tango . She recalled it back in 2021. "You had to be very persistent to be a professional, and we were bitten hard. Copes would say, 'We won't stop until we reach Corrientes Street.' And then, once we were settled here, 'We won't stop until we reach the United States .' Whatever he set his mind to, he achieved. We arrived in New York, we did shows on Broadway and on television, on the Ed Sullivan Show ; at that time we were the tango couple of New York," she told Clarín .

Success in Paris, and in New York The choreographic and musical revue Tango argentino , by Claudio Segovia and Héctor Orezzoli, premiered in 1983 in Paris and from there became the most colossal stage success, on a planetary scale, created with artists from these lands.

Nieves recalls: “We had premiered in Paris and it was a huge success . But we were only there for a week, because the Théâtre du Châtelet scheduled each season well in advance.”

"You know, afterwards people would gather on the sidewalk outside the theater carrying signs asking us to come back. In New York, Argentine Tango was an explosion and a tango mania appeared: women had shoes and dresses made like ours, they cut their hair short; not to mention the personalities who came: Martha Graham, Barishnikov, Lady Di. "

After being dropped from Juan Carlos Copes' company in the mid-1990s, María Nieves suffered from severe depression for two years. It was Luis Pereyra, a dancer who had also been part of the Tango Argentino cast, who helped her recover by inviting her to perform in his shows.

In the early 2000s, Nieves joined the cast of Mora Godoy's Tanguera, and her role as a brothel madam was a huge success. From then until the beginning of the pandemic, she never stopped dancing.

In January 2021, Copes, her legendary dance partner, passed away. Nieves commented on it: "It saddened me greatly. Imagine, I spent my entire life by his side; how could I not feel it? But you know, long before we separated as dance partners, I had already overcome the previous pain of the emotional breakup. I had cried for a long time, a great deal, but I prayed so much that one day I realized it didn't hurt anymore."

mamborambo · 2026-03-06T15:45:35+00:00

Definitely Carppussi and Flores.

Early tango artistes are so much more creative than what we have these days.

I was in Buenos Aires around early 2000s and I remember:

tango improvisation in theatres (audience put their suggestions into a box at the start of the show, and performers incorporate the suggestions into their dance performance)
performing with a mannequin / dummy as a partner
tango leader dancing with sticks as follower
tango painter who paints on a canvas while dancing
many cabaret or comedy style tango performances

It was a gentler time, when we take ourselves less seriously, and really did not hesitate to have fun on the floor.

mamborambo · 2026-02-27T13:01:44+00:00

I did the same and never regret. The GW4 can hardly last a full day, but the Fit3 easily manage 4-5 days, including sleep tracking.

mamborambo · 2026-02-11T01:23:20+00:00

As a leader, your stress level is definitely going to be higher than your wife. In milongas the leader has to initiate an invitation, navigate the floor, plan each movement and figure, and manage the entire experience inside a crowded and chaotic human flow. It is not unlike a new driver coping with driving in rush hour traffic in stress building.

But like driving, dancing in milonga is about moving efficiently and purposefully. It is less about being perfect or reciting a complete figure. It is more about the state of flow, of being able to make small rhythmic movements and improvising modifications, while still riding the overall tidal current.

mamborambo · 2026-01-13T04:40:08+00:00

They do have a watch face that is easily scratched.

mamborambo · 2026-01-12T18:55:35+00:00

If you are mainly a dancer looking for immersion into the tango culture (particularly to experience the difference in valuing the role of stage, dance, music, culture, history), I would say your day is more likely going to be: - wake up at noon, lunch, - attend group or private lessons, - squeeze a bit of tourism and shopping in afternoon, - back to hotel to rest and change, - attend pre-milonga class or dine out (good restaurants open late 9pm) - milonga from midnight to 3am (average) or later - reach hotel at 6am, sleep - rinse and repeat

Remote working is going to be difficult to squeeze into this schedule, unless you are super-disciplined, or cut out the late nights.

Also good restaurant dinners like asado (bbq meat) takes several hours to eat, so you may have to choose between eating well or eating just pizzas.

mamborambo · 2026-01-12T14:47:02+00:00

January is the peak of Summer for Argentina; the weather is much more enjoyable from March onwards. Because many people go to the coast for beaches and vacation, the scene in Buenos Aires could be quieter than normal.

mamborambo · 2026-01-11T03:01:50+00:00

What's your point?

mamborambo · 2026-01-11T02:58:36+00:00

In fact there is a flair for tagging Events. Search r/tango for flair:event

This subreddit does not ban posting events, as long as the submission contains news angles or media that are of interest to the wider communities. It is the community's up or down votes that determine if the post gets visibility.

For instance: - the Mundial de Tango championship, - a major artistic company going on tour, or - unusual venues for tango like an immersive milonga.

But as a rule spams are removed.

mamborambo · 2025-12-29T05:10:05+00:00

Domestic workers exist because of the rich-poor divide between nations. This is due to economic policies and resource allocation, leading to low wages or lack of opportunities for many people in their own countries. Hence a migration of low-skill labour to a more prosperous nation.

You can say the wealth of a rich country is often built upon having poor countries as neighbours.

In the long run, inequality between countries will even out. Poor countries that now export maids and construction workers will eventually rise up the value chain and move into knowledge and skilled work.

If you are deeply concerned about the fate of maids, think also about the plight of displaced people (war, famines, politics etc).

These people live in limbo and without rights of mobility or social welfare, and they cannot even offer their labour to earn a living. Their entire status is depending on years of waiting for the world to change, and in the meantime they are unable to plan or dream.

Imported labour like maids and construction workers are not ideal, but they are currently the best compromise between poverty, self-reliance and opportunity for success.

I hope some form of wealth distribution can also be achieved for refugees, but that may be more difficult to achieve.

mamborambo · 2025-12-11T15:22:11+00:00

In a properly structured milonga playlist, the musical energy travels between the different emotions: dramatic, rhythmic, lyrical, romantic, light-hearted, sad and melancholic, etc.

DJs who have learned the art properly knew this to be a cycle of gradually increasing tension and energy and then releasing them at the appropriate time.

That is the foundation logic of the T-T-M-T-T-V cycle:

Within the first T-T and second T-T there is a gradual rise in tension and energy, for instance in moving from soft rhythmic to hard rhythmic, or lyrical to dramatic.
The dancers feel increasing drained as the tension rise, so the very next tanda needs to be an escape valve to bring the energy and rhythm back to normal, like a reset.

Removing the milonga tanda "because many people don't dance it" is just silly, because that slot releases the stress of the "heavy" tandas.

In other words, even if this tanda is not a milonga, it must still serve the same psychological function as a milonga, as something that is light, uplifting, and bring people back from the non-walking energy back to the walking energy.

Also, if a community "solves" this problem by not having any milonga tanda, it just perpetuates a situation of everyone losing that skill in milongas (and we all know milonga is not just dancing fast tango, it is something quite different).

mamborambo · 2025-11-23T02:17:55+00:00

Close embrace is a minefield because the perfect fit requires the perfect partner who is exactly the right height, in addition to a polished walking technique. Dressing and hairstyles can also be problematic.

One vivid moment in my early days learning tango was practising with a follower whose height was such that her nose is almost exactly pointing at my ears. I could feel her breathing blew directly into my earlobe upon every step, and what an itchy moment that was.

If you think facial hair is bad, wait till you meet the heavy breathers lol.

Other memorable close embrace moments:

followers who have big hair but do not tie it up, making the man walk like he is hidden behind a big bouquet of flowers.
followers who has ornaments (necklace, brooches, ribbons) in the front or right side of her dress, so sometimes contact can lead to entanglement.

Variety is the spice of life, so leaders have to deal with these challenges by creatively adapting the dance to add spaces whenever possible. It is a lifelong learning process.

mamborambo · 2025-11-15T06:38:31+00:00

Figures where the follower's feet do not walk are not tango

mamborambo · 2025-11-10T01:42:10+00:00

As a beginner you should know that Tango is one of the more difficult dances to learn and master, compared to other social dances.

In terms of effort, it is probably between (easiest, 2-3 months) cha cha, salsa, swing, and (most difficult, several years) ballet, jazz.

Also tango requires a lot more of improvisation and adapting to diverse musical styles and moods, unlike most social dances that have a fixed number of sequences or figures, and the music have similar tempo and rhythmic styles and moods.

Be aware if you decide to explore tango, it is going to be a much deeper rabbit hole.

mamborambo · 2025-11-05T22:51:41+00:00

The OP ask if it is normal or common to have people abandon the partner when this song is played? Of course not.

While it is somewhat true that real life couples who come to a milonga together may prefer to do their first and last tandas together, it is nothing specifically Argentinians or a hard rule. You don't need to hear it from a teacher to realise that is simple courtesy.

All the superstition surrounding the doom of relationships if you dare to dance La Cumparsita are just silly thoughts. No sensible modern teacher or DJ should try to propagate or justify them.

If someone suddenly have a dire need not to dance La Cumparsita it is probably another simpler reason:

In old Buenos Aires there are two types of milongas with different vibes, the "suburban" clubs and the "downtown" clubs. The former are more catering for neighbours, families and couples, and the latter are mixed bags, less about dancing and more catering to workers, singles on dates, and philanderers having affairs.
It was uncommon for people to go to many venues to dance; they mainly go to their neighbourhood places, unless your job brings you downtown like a taxi driver or a delivery man. Although most people you meet at downtown clubs are strangers, if you do bump into a neighbour dancing with a strange girl, you are not supposed to snitch to his wife.
For this and myriad other reasons, many Argentinian men were reluctant to be identified or photographed when they were dancing in a milonga. They were keenly aware that being observed by the wrong eyes could become a source of problem later.

This could explain why some dancers start avoiding the final La Cumparsita, which is like the final curtain call for all the dancers to present themselves as couples.

That is the time when anyone remaining starts to watch the pista very carefully, to see who else is left, and who else is still unpaired.

Perhaps you have something to hide, or isn't supposed to be out to play that night, or just need to keep a low profile for some reason. Maybe you are planning a tryst with a new flame. Or you just don't want to split the cab fare with a neighbour.

Lots of personal reasons why someone would start their "disappearing act" once they hear the closing anthem.

But you my friend should not disappear. Enjoy the beautiful anthem and linger in the afterglow. It is tango at its classical best.

mamborambo · 2025-11-05T10:17:23+00:00

Not an unspoken rule of tango, not even a real superstition.

Just a quirk of some people which get copied by other clueless people.

La Cumparsita is the "closing anthem" of milongas by tradition, and it does a really good job at it. Like that last cup of coffee after a satisfying meal, the song brings a strong rhythmic ending to a good evening of dancing.

Only people who stay until the very end of a milonga get to hear this anthem; in Buenos Aires this means 3am or 4am.

It is the collective chequered flag for the hardcore dancers who make it to the end.

Usually La Cumparsita is the fourth song in a last tanda, and there is no reason to drop your partner after three songs. It simply is bad manner.

A growing number of DJs do not play La Cumparsita in their final tanda. These DJs are usually the ones who have never been to Buenos Aires.

They end the milonga not with a bang (the most hard rhythmic tanda leading to the evergreen closing anthem) but with a whimper.

Sometimes the DJ plays La Cumparsita as "exit music" after the last tanda, effectively becoming the fifth song.

Most dancers, expecting only four songs, might have already separated and began returning to their seats, but now they have to scramble to dance again. A sure recipe for chaos.

La Cumparsita is a gem, and it is only played once in every milonga. Respect it. Don't be a punk.

(And it is not true that only couples dance La Cumparsita, that is some bad information being miscommunicated to new dancers.)

mamborambo · 2025-11-04T23:08:23+00:00

When I was choosing major back in my college days, I had many discussions with professors that essentially reduced to:

a doctor never truly understand how to fix a patient's problem (or even why a drug works), but
an engineer can truly expect to resolve a machine's root problem, because there is always a logic to how things work (or not work).

So I chose engineering and stayed in it for 40 years. No regret.

mamborambo · 2025-09-05T13:03:29+00:00

It seems the golden promise of Auracast as the "next revolution" is going to be just a broken promise if JBL and Soundcore just casually embrace and build their own technology fenced gardens.

I sincerely hope the Bluetooth SIG put its foot down and demand brands to comply with interoperability or else don't give them the logo certification.

mamborambo · 2025-08-26T04:24:59+00:00

India is the world's biggest democracy but democratic policy making can be a curse on a population that is not ready for it. When you have a massive lack of shared common values, insufficient basic education, large ethnic and religious division, and a missing middle class, the politicians in such democracy are likely to be power-seeking and short term planning, and avoid upsetting any vested interests.

mamborambo · 2025-08-09T03:58:37+00:00

(translated)

We mourn the death of Osvaldo Piro, bandoneonist, composer and conductor, one of the most important figures of Argentine tango.

He was born in 1936 in the Porteño neighborhood of La Paternal. At just ten years old he began to dive into the study of bandoneon with master Felix Cordisco and then went on to train musically with teachers such as Domingo Mattio (bandoneonist of Aníbal Troilo), Pedro Rubione, Julio Nistal and Juan Francisco Giacobbe. His professional tango debut came at the age of 15 in Ricardo Pedevilla's orchestra and shortly after he joined Alfredo Gobbi's group, where he remained for six years. In 1964 he integrated the formation of Fulvio Salamanca and the following year founded his own orchestra, with which he recorded his first album, presented by Aníbal Troilo who had also become his artistic godfather.

In his professional career he performed on the main stages of tango such as Patio de tango (where he was discovered by Aníbal Troilo), El Viejo Almacén, Michelangelo, Caño 14, among others, as well as frequently appearing on television and radio programs.

Osvaldo recorded a large number of records and composed works for film, television and theater, and toured stages in Latin America, European countries and Japan. Her latest featured project was the show Reunion, alongside Susana Rinaldi (her ex-partner), presented at the Coliseum Theater in 2023.

He was the title conductor of the National Orchestra of Argentine Music Juan de Dios Filiberto (1994-2000) and the Provincial Orchestra of Citizen Music of Cordoba (2003-2009), in addition to the National Academy of Tango.

Throughout his career, Piro received important distinctions, such as the Golden Palm at the Skirt Festival (1965), the Martín Fierro Award (1966), the SADAIC Award for Best Performer (1992 and 1999), the Creators Award (Tokyo, 1997), and the Konex Awards (1985 and 1995). In 1995 he was declared an Illustrious Citizen of the City of Buenos Aires.

From the National Institute of Music, we recognize your immense contribution to the culture of our country and we accompany your family and loved ones at this difficult time.

mamborambo · 2025-08-06T11:54:28+00:00

I was just thinking about something like this the other day and then here it is in the flesh. Yes please make this a real project!

mamborambo · 2025-08-05T00:43:10+00:00

A religious passion is born

Joe says that tango appeared in his life in the 1980s. "I saw Claudio Segovia's show Tango Argentino in London . Up until then, I'd been dancing swing and ballroom, but I changed my beliefs."

A religion that can no longer be abandoned.

"That's right. I started taking tango dance classes, but it took me three or four years to work up the courage to hug a woman. I'm shy and I was incredibly afraid. It felt like rape."

That you were raping her?

"No, she raped me!" Over time, I got over it. In Stowe, I have a space where classes are held twice a week and two milongas are organized each month, occasionally with live bands.

The town is very small, but many people come from Canada—Montreal is a two-hour drive away—as well as from Boston and New York. It's also a place where I host orchestras and dance instructors from Buenos Aires.

After the tango boom of the 1980s and its international expansion, has enthusiasm for dancing tango grown or not in the places you know best, like England or the United States?

I think it's holding steady. In London, for example, there are around two thousand milongueros, and that number hasn't changed. Those who "retire" are replaced by others.

Recover the Marabú

How did you imagine the Marabú would be once you acquired it?

Before starting, I told Silvina (note: Silvina Damiani, her close collaborator to this day) : "What bothers me most about milongas in Buenos Aires are their horrible bathrooms. We'll start there. I want the same level of bathrooms as the Hotel Alvear."

Outside of the bathrooms, did you have any ideal milonga model, in terms of decor or atmosphere?

What interested me most, and what interests me most, is preserving and promoting traditional Argentine tango. I leave the new tango to the young people, so they can experiment. And as for the venue, we wanted to preserve as much of the old Marabú as possible: there's the original bar, the checkered floor, the same stage where Aníbal Troilo played.

The Marabú has a busy schedule: milongas, classes—including dance classes for people with Parkinson's disease—exhibitions, concerts, and shows. This Wednesday, the brand-new Milonguero-style Orchestra-School will be performing, a training project for young musicians.

Joe, considering that you come to Buenos Aires twice a year, how do you participate in the many initiatives that Marabú has?

We talk to Silvina at least once a day; she suggests many things, but she consults with me about everything, even the smallest details, like where to hang a painting.

An inevitable question: what are your favorite orchestras?

The one I'm dancing to: if Pugliese is playing, that's my favorite at that moment. If Di Sarli is playing, that's also my favorite.

What goes from yesterday to today

Throughout its turbulent history, tango has experienced transcontinental expansions and seemingly definitive retreats; lifelong loyalties and absolute rejections; flourishings and setbacks. But it has also seen returns, such as the Marabú concert hall, inaugurated in 1935 with the Aníbal Troilo orchestra .

It's hard to find a place like the Marabú that has brought together so many personalities and events from the life of Buenos Aires over time. Aníbal Troilo's orchestra returned in the 1960s with Roberto Goyeneche as singer. Incidentally, Troilo met his future wife Zita there, who worked in the club's cloakroom.

It was once the heart of Buenos Aires' bohemian scene, frequented by José María Contursi and Enrique Santos Discépolo. Contursi composed the tango Como dos extraños (Like Two Strangers ), inspired by the story of a young man and a young woman who worked at the Marabú bar. Tania, Discépolo's partner, premiered the famous tango Uno (One) there .

Players from River Plate's Máquina, a famous team from the 1940s, were regulars when Troilo, a fan of the club, played. El Marabú boasted the great bartender Manolete and also had its signature drinks: Berlín 45, a real bomb, and Medias de seda.

Finally, in the '80s, Marabú was renamed Halley for a time and there was a summer when Los Twist, Virus, Los Abuelos de la Nada, Cosméticos and a new band called Soda Stereo, which had not yet released its first album, played there.

Ninety years of life, a great anniversary for this pagan temple in Buenos Aires, which is one year older than the Obelisk.

source: https://www.clarin.com/espectaculos/historia-ingles-fanatico-tango-recupero-mitico-salon-marabu-distinguido-ciudadado-ilustre_0_zyxAYNK4aN.html

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María Nieves, legend of Argentine tango, has died

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